The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory's Biennial Spring Symposium, in conjunction with the JPB Foundation, "Early Life Stress & Mental Health."

Monday, May 10 from 9:00am - 3:00pm

Registration is required. Please click here to register. 

Though studies show that abuse, neglect or trauma during childhood can lead to lifelong lifelong struggles including in mental health, research also indicates that solutions and interventions at various stages of life can be developed to help.  And while many people manage to remain resilient, a lack of opportunity early in life, including because of poverty and systemic racism, can constrain their ability to realize their full potential. In what ways are health and other outcomes affected? How can systems instead restore opportunity?

The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory's biennial spring symposium, "Early Life Stress & Mental Health,” will examine these issues. The daylong event will feature talks by neuroscientists, policy experts, physicians, educators and activists as they discuss how our experiences and biology work together to affect how our minds develop and what can be accomplished in helping people overcome early disadvantages.

SPEAKERS AND AGENDA:

9:00 - 9:10am:        Opening Remarks: Dr. Li-Huei Tsai,  Institute Director and Picower Professor, The Picower Institute, MIT and Barbara Picower, President, JPB Foundation

9:10 - 9:55am:         Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative

9:55 - 10:25am:       Dr. Gloria Choi, Associate Professor, The Picower Institute, MIT

10:25 - 10:45am:     Break

10:45 - 11:15am:     Dr. Mariana Arcaya, Associate Professor, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning

11:15 - 11:45am:     Jose Antonio Vargas, Founder and Key Strategic Consultant, Define American

11:45am - 12:45pm: Lunch

12:45 - 1:15pm:       Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Surgeon General of the State of California

1:15 - 2:00pm:         Panel Discussion: Outreach and Opportunities in STEM                                                                                     
Panelists include:                                      
Moderator Dr. Laura Schulz, Professor and Associate Department Head for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Initiatives in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT                                                                                      
Eboney Hearn, Executive Director, MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs (OEOP)

Dr. Héctor De Jesús-Cortes, Postdoc, Picower Institute; Founder and Co-director of Sagrado-MIT Neuroscience Pre-College Program; BCS Postdoctoral Association Chair

Junyi Chu, Graduate Student and Mentor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT

• Kailande Cassamajor, Senior, Howard University; BCS MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) Alumna
• Liora Jones, Senior, Torrington (CT) High School; Schulz Early Childhood Cognition Lab Former Intern.

Tyler Bonnen, Graduate Student, Stanford University; MIT BCS Postbaccalaureate Research Scholars Alumnus

2:00 - 2:45pm:     Geoffrey Canada, President, Harlem Children’s Zone

2:45pm:                Closing Remarks:  Dr. Matt Wilson, Sherman Fairchild Professor and Associate Director, The Picower Institute, MIT.